Military Naturalization Nonsense...

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Bushmaster

Registered Users (C)
Hello folks,

In the past, I inquired about the military naturalization several times and tried to get an idea on the situation I am currently in.

However it seems like what I feared is going to happen.

I am currently stationed in Korea, I have a record of more than 10 months active service and continuing, and I have a joint I-751 Removal of Conditions petition to file this August.

I am planning to turn in my application packet for warrant officer program in the Army, however one is required to be a US citizen before applying such commissioning programs. Well, INS has been advertising the "infamous" expedited naturalization for servicemembers, (http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/MilitaryBrochurev7.pdf) it is free, fast and all that happy stuff.

Sounds like you can be in any status to apply for this type of citizenship, whether you are a permanent resident or not.

Well you are wrong, you can be an illegal to apply for naturalization if you have active duty service after Sept 11, however if you are a flippin CONDITIONAL RESIDENT, you can't do it. You can be anything but not a conditional resident in the military, they will halt you right away in your tracks!!!

Recently an infantry friend of mine applied under section 329 of the INA from Fort Campbell, KY and he ended up getting a NOA saying, we are sorry you need to remove your conditions first. Another Army paralegal on my current post who received an interview date on his citizenship application, was halted when INS realized he was a conditional resident and never filed a I-751 and his status expired.

Many people says, go to JAG on your post/base they will help you, wrong, they don't know anything about immigration matters, especially if you are among few who are in this situation.

After this point, my only question would be this; should I wait until August and enclose a copy of I-751 NOA along with the N-400? Will they be processed together?

Thanks, especially to INS supporting the troops, like my battle buddy said, we probably deserve posthumous citizenship which is easy to process.
 
http://immigration-information.com/

Post the same questions/isssue at http://immigration-information.com/ which is maintained by Mr. Gotcher, an attorney that as an ex-military doesn't charge to immigrants in the military. That forum is smaller but he personally answers to most postings, and he is a very, very good immigration attorney.
 
Bushmaster, it's great to see you again Brother. How are you?

This is the United States Army Sergeant who in 2003 was posting on ILW.com about his ordeal with USCIS and their extreme unfair delay of his military naturalization. So finally you did join the Army. CONGRATULATIONS!! :p I am happy for you and I hope that my advice to you did help a little. I remember you had a lot of questions regarding the military. So how are you now? and how is the military life?

Anyway, I am still waiting for my naturalization to be completed. Yes, still waiting. Do you remember how depressed I was in 2003, and yet I followed the advice of many good members who asked me to just wait. I did, to no avail. :D But there is a God. After holding my file for more than two years, USCIS made the mistake of conductiong my examination. So I had my interview which opened another possibility for me: THE UNITED STATES COURT SYSTEM REPRESENTED IN THE DISTRICT COURTS. Yes my friend. I am patiently and happily :D waiting for my 120-day period to expire, then I will tell USCIS and the executive branch of the U.S. Government: SEE YOU IN COURT.

My advice to you is DO NOT TRUST USCIS. Double-check everything you receive from them or you hear from them. And you are right! DO NOT RELY ON THE MILITARY JAG. Most military lawyers suck. I am sorry but it is the truth. I trusted them with my case, and they messed it up real bad. Try to talk to lawyers outside the military. Call or email them. You are already doing the right thing by asking questions on different forums.

One thing I surely learned from my ordeal with USCIS is that serving in the U.S. military means crap to them. They spit on your face in front of you and treat you like a bug just because you are an immigrant. I almost got killed protecting this great country, yet USCIS still have the audacity to give me hard time and unjustly delay my naturalization.
 
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Hoah Sergeant,

Can you explain a little more about your case and bring me up to speed, I can't really remember what was going on 2 years ago since I was fighting the deportation case, one down, one more to go with INS!!

Gotta make it to "driving" class so I will get back on later...
 
military naturalization - what was the result?

Hi everybody,

I talked to a recruiter and they informed me that you can apply for naturalization soon after you join the military. But then I came across this post, claiming that conditional residents run into problems when they try to become a citizen before they remove conditions. I realize this thread was posted last year. But has anyone heard about this situation since then? And what was the outcome for this person serving in the military in May 2005? I hope he's still a member and can inform us. Or if anyone else knows about how naturalization really works in the military.

Another thing I'm wondering is: in order to remove the conditions on your residence, you need to show them that you and your spouse have been living together for the past 2 years or so. So, if you join the military and they do not let you become a citizen on an expedited basis as they promise, then what happens to your permanent residency status? By definition, when you're in the military, you're not living with your spouse most of the time. Then by definition, you cannot even hope to remove the conditions? I think there's something not so clear here. I looked at many sources and they all seem to agree that in the eyes of USCIS, you're a PR, so conditional status should not create a problem in the way of expedited naturalization. I'd be very happy if anyone could enlighten me on this. Thanks.
 
MasterArcht said:
Another thing I'm wondering is: in order to remove the conditions on your residence, you need to show them that you and your spouse have been living together for the past 2 years or so. So, if you join the military and they do not let you become a citizen on an expedited basis as they promise, then what happens to your permanent residency status? By definition, when you're in the military, you're not living with your spouse most of the time. Then by definition, you cannot even hope to remove the conditions? I think there's something not so clear here. I looked at many sources and they all seem to agree that in the eyes of USCIS, you're a PR, so conditional status should not create a problem in the way of expedited naturalization. I'd be very happy if anyone could enlighten me on this. Thanks.
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That is what happened to me, you pretty much hang in the air. My conditional residency status expired, N400 still pending security checks, no valid passport, or possibility to get a valid one from native country, so they gave me a pathetic letter which is good for one year. We got a letter saying that I-751 is in secutiry checks. D'OH! I was told that I-751 will be dropped once I naturalize.
 
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